Children with cleft palate (CP) have difficulty feeding due to the inability to generate negative pressure in the mouth in order to draw milk out of the bottle. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, this birth defect affects 1 in 700 infants world-wide. Prior to corrective surgery, the simple task of feeding is a burden for both the child and parent (or care provider).
The present inventors recognized that current bottle designs specialized for CP are lacking due to the poorly understood mechanics of bottle feeding in these children. An aspect of an embodiment of the present invention provides, but not limited thereto, an improved, more effective bottle developed in order to provide an intermediate solution to affected children and parents (or care providers). Currently there are several bottles designed for babies with cleft palate or lip, such as the Haberman Feeder, Pigeon Bottle, and Mead Johnson. However, the present inventors recognized that a major problem, among others, with these bottles is that the flow rate is inconsistent and is significantly lower when compared to standard baby bottles such as the Avent Classic bottle and the Nuk Orthodontic bottle. This inconsistency comes from the parent (or care provider) having to control the flow rate by squeezing the bottle and a lack of communication between parent (or care provider) and child. This often results in longer feeding times for the parent (or care provider), resulting in the infant not consuming enough nutrients required for proper growth. The present inventors recognized that another issue is the cost and accessibility of each of these specialized bottles. These bottles can range anywhere from $20 (Mead Johnson nurser) to above $100.00 (Respironic Pigeon Specialty Feeding bottle) and can often only be found online or specially ordered. Some of the specialized bottles such as Haberman or the Pigeon nipple also come with one-way valve system which is hard to clean, assemble and disassemble. It also costs more to buy replacement since the bottle cannot be used without the missing piece. An aspect of an embodiment of the present invention provides, but not limited thereto, a design that addresses these problems by (among other reasons) allowing the baby to have control of the fluid flow.